Hello and thanks in advance for any help or input on the car I'm going to look at this weekend. It's an 05 R52 with the JCW package. I'm kind of confused on if it's the factory JCW or dealer. The owner has the certificate from JCW. It has 113k on it. Hes asking 4500 OBO. Its had 5 owners.I ran the carfax and it had a decent amount of dealer service done on it. Including a clutch at like 45k which I'm not sure why it would need it that early unless someone didn't know how to drive a manual. He said it has coilovers on it. I'll post the pics I got and hit me up with any questions if need be. Thanks again for any help. Mark

 

Looks like a nice car. Look it up using a VIN decoder www.mdecoder.com

 

That is a real beauty! Looks clean. Price seems slightly high for a private sale, but in the ballpark. Find out if he raced it, as I noticed the stabilizer bar, unless that is part of the Works package. I would pay about $4,000.00 max, assuming everything is in working order, and it has a clean title. Insist on having your own mechanic check it out. Good luck.


Kat

 

Kitchen -

It's got a "real", semi-rare, JCW strut tower support. A true "straight" support. Only a couple on the market that are as good.
Looks like it's got an MSD coil pack. Seems that even though it's a performance coil, the OEM coil puts out more power. A guy a few years back did an output test of a bunch coils. It's here on the board somewhere.
Aluminum water reservoir, aluminum power steering reservoir.
It's got the right cam cover, airbox and the right sticker on the air diverter (intercooler cover). Does the number on the cam cover match the number on the JCW certificate ?
It's got a good, aftermarket, right side upper motor mount.
Check underneath, the front suspension. Is the back bushing on the lower control arm, plastic or rubber ? With the rest of the upper goodies, it may have urethane (most are blue in color) bushings installed.
It does have adjustable coil over shocks (the ***** sticking up), at least on the front. It looks like it might have adjustable upper plates also. If so, you can somewhat easily adjust the camber in the front.
Check the rear, lower control arm. If it has a threaded section and a coupla lock nuts, there's another adjustable part for the rear camber.
Check the rear anti-sway bar. If it has three holes in the ends (at the suspension attachment links)...another aftermarket part.
Check the the end of the crankshaft. See if it has an ATI (or Fluid Damper) damper on it. Another semi-expensive, good part to have. The ATI is easy to spot, it has a white ring on the front with a bunch of writing on it.

Looks like it might be a good deal, considering that is has some and may have more semi-expensive parts already on it.

The two other main questions, how old is the drive belt (just replace it), and if the blower was ever serviced ?

Mike

 

JCW's were dealer installed only until ??, a date later than 2005 as I recall.

 

Katgirl, the current owner is an older guy who has only had the car for for less than a year. He bought it to have a convertible but he said his arthritis is getting bad along with his back so that's why he is selling it. Its had 5 owners but has a decent amount of service records on the carfax report but as far as being raced it will be hard to determine. Here is a copy of the JCW certificate.

 

Prior to 2006, the JCW Tuning Kits are dealer installed. Starting from 2006 they could be factory ordered or also dealer installed.

This R52 is a dealer installed kit.

 

VIN WMWRH335X5TF83403 Prod. Date 2005-02-14 Service History !! CHECK HISTORY !! Type COOPER S (USA) Series R52 (M Series) Body Type CABRIO Steering Left Hand Drive Engine W11 Displacement 1.60 Power 125kw / 170hp Drive FRONT Transmission Manual Colour LIQUID YELLOW (902) Upholstery LEDER GRAVITYPANTHER SCHWARZ (T6PN) Check mileage http://www.auto-records.com

Editions And Packages

S736A 2nd Radio Remote Control Key

Comfort And Interior Equipment

S450A Height Adjustment Passenger Seat S494A Seat Heating Driverpassenger S441A Smoker Package S470A IsofixSystem S481A Sports Seat S493A Storage Compartment Package

Multimedia

S645A BMW US Radio S650A CD Player S674A HiFi System Harman Kardon S692A Preparation BMW 6CD Changer Ibus S657A Radio BMW BusinessMINI Boost - Bavsound Speaker Upgrade Available

Driver Assistance And Lightning

S520A Fog Lights S522A Xenon Light S534A Automatic Air Conditioning S547A Cockpit Chrono Package S550A Onboard Computer S586A BMW LA Wheel Sspoke S5AAA Rear Fog Light S508A Park Distance Control PDC S546A Revolution Counter S563A Light Package

Wheels And Drive

S210A Dynamic Stability Control S249A Multifunction F Steering Wheel S226A Sports Suspension Settings S255A Sports Leather Steering Wheel

Environment And Safety

S314A Door Mirror Drivers Lock Heated S318A Interior Surface In Vehicle Color S329A Hood Stripe Black S345A Chrome Line Interieur S895A Additional Fan S8SPA Control Unit COP S3ABA Mirror Cap In Vehicle Color S823A Hotclimate Version S845A Acoustic Belt Warning S853A Language Version English S876A Radio Frequency 315 MHz

Other Equipment

S1CAA Selection Of COP Relevant Vehicles S925A VERSANDSCHUTZPAKET S9AAA Outer Skin Protection S992A Control Of Numberplate Attachment



It has JCW strut bar, Alcantra JCW steering wheel, Premium pkg, Cold weather pkg, Sport pkg, chrono and rear fog light. Also has the aero pkg installed. It does not have LSD or JCW kit installed as an option. Its definitely worth 4K if top is good and its had some maintenance done. The wheels are extra cost also

 

Lots of goos stuff on the car and I don't think you could build one for the asking price. Looks nice IMO

 

I also see adjustable front camber plates. Assume it has Megan Racing coilovers, because of the visible camber plates and the large sticker up front.

Visibly looks like a highly optioned car with some decent mods
and accessories.

Like any higher mileage first gen MINI, a pre-purchase inspection is advised.

 

The problem is it's almost 2 hours from my house so where am I supposed to get it checked out at. Plus it may be on a Sunday when no place is open. I was going to have my friend who is a ford tech come with me but he is no mini specialist and it wont be on a lift. I did run the carfax and it did have a small rear end accident reported but doesn't go into detail. Plus the first owner had a lot of service done on the car.

 

 

it is a used car .... 15 years old if I'm not mistaken .......

it is worth what some one is willing to pay

if you like the price .. go for it and DO NOT ask others . . .

YOUR PRICE ... not MY price . . .

 

So I can't ask for other people's opinions. How about next time keep yours to yourself if you dont have anything productive to add. Doesnt matter anyway because the guy sold it before even letting me see it even thought we had scheduled a time tomorrow. Kind of a **** move to me but what can I do. Keep searching I guess

 

Good news being there are more of these cars out there. And there is a reason sites like Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds, Hemmings, and NADA (used to be hard copy books revised annually at one point) exist; to take some of the guess work out of what a car is generally worth in the current market, both wholesale and retail.

Also, from one ragtop owner to another and you've probably already considered this, but black upholstery / interior in a convertible can get toasty in a hurry with the top down. You'll want seat covers and make sure the AC works extra good.

Good luck in the hunt!

 

So I can't ask for other people's opinions. How about next time keep yours to yourself if you dont have anything productive to add.

I WAS trying to give you good experienced advice.

1. Go to bluebook ..... this WILL give you a realistic price

2. All that stuff you posted means diddly ...... it is a used car ....

3. If YOU like the price (and I'd compare to Blue Book before I decide) then go for it.

Been buying cars since 1973 if you want to listen to the crowd ... go for it.

 

I think you did everything right.

Before you buy a used car, get all the information you can first before you start looking to know what to look for and what to avoid. Learn what you can about the specific car as well.

Two big buts; Don’t wait too long to decide (which you didn’t) and in the end, you need to decide what it is worth (which I believe you were doing)

The pricing guides are good benchmarks and they may be great for when there are dozens of identical cars available. They don’t reflect the value to you when you find what you want. You could easily spend twice as much getting the options you want on a car that didn’t already have them.

The forum is here for the sharing of information feel free to ask for opinions and advice.

 

Sorry to hear you missed it, that was a good deal based off all the upgrades, those are hard to find. Good luck on the search. ECS sticker on it added 20hp+

 

Unfortunately much of buying a used car is subjective, for example I just bought my GF an 05 R52 S with 140.000 miles and some minor body damage, and a small hole in the top. (Where they were known to rub through).
While it doesn't sound appealing to someone that wants something in perfect condition, or is willing to pay a premium for something that doesn't need any work now or in the near future.
For us it was a good find, she's not worried about the minor damage and any PM parts and work that hasn't been done yet is no big deal for me to handle, even a clutch is only a weekend job at most.
Considering it was only $2250.00, we'll patch the hole in the top for now, and she'll motor on down the road for a good long time knowing that I can easily fix anything that pops up.
But for someone who doesn't do their own wrenching, or isn't as familiar with cars as I am (esp these), the decision could be far more daunting.

Good Luck in your hunt.

 

The Buyer probably showed up with cash in hand. What did you expect the Seller to do, turn down a sure sale to show you the car and HOPE you liked it and HOPE you could agree to a price??

You can always make a purchase order REFUNDABLE based upon your inspection and approval. Give the Seller $100 that is refundable. Then you have a contract (or at least an option to buy) that you can always walk away from or renegotiate the price after inspection.

Good luck with the search, these are fun cars to drive!!

Regards,
Jerry

 

First come first serve, that's how the world works. If someone shows up with cash and we strike a deal, that's the way she goes.

Seemed like a fair asking price, but nothing I would have jumped at.